Mission

The essence of the work at the Aspen Center for Physics lies in thought and communication. Set in a friendly, small town of inspiring landscapes, the Center is conducive to deep thinking with few distractions, rules or demands. In our "circle of serenity," physicists work at their own speeds and in their own ways: alone or together, at the desk, at the blackboard or in a chair on the lawn.
Spontaneous discussions give rise to new collaborations.

The Center encourages individual and collaborative research and offers summer workshops and winter conferences in biophysics, astrophysics and cosmology, particle physics, and condensed matter physics. Cross-scientific workshops with other disciplines are scheduled when physics is central to the topic. Each year, over 1,000 scientists from around the world visit the Center to explore new research on the unanswered questions about our world and universe.

Physicists share their cutting-edge research with Aspen locals and visitors during the free Heinz R. Pagels and Maggie and Nick DeWolf lecture series. Informal physics dialogues and cafés give the audience additional opportunities to ask questions and engage in conversations.
In the summer, the Center co-hosts a weekly picnic for children and their families with the Aspen Science Center.
After the picnic, our physicists introduce big ideas to children of all ages.